These past 15 weeks have been brutal, but there's one more week to the first semester of my MBA. In focusing in on this goal I've had for years I've had to drastically cut back in other areas of my life. My family has had to put up with my time spent studying, I've had to turn down a few work opportunities, and I feel like my creative output has taken a huge – but temporary – hit.
Not complaining considering I knew going after my MBA would be a sizable commitment, but I didn't expect it to be this hard. I didn't realize I'd be a full-time student in addtion to being a husband, parent, and still staying on top of the work I do for a living. The most difficult and time consuming class I've taken so far has been my Financial Management course. I keep track of my study schedule and I've been clocking in more than 25 hours a week studying for that class alone. In early November it was something like 42 hours just for that class.
Still, I'm freakin' stoked about what I've been learning.
As creatives I feel like we cut ourselves off at the knees by not understanding the business end of our work, especially in finances. I'd like to see some more current numbers, but according to a 2014 report on financial literacy, the U.S. ranks 14th in the world. Some of the financial nonsense we've been covering in my classes is incredibly dense, but even the basics around time value of money and capital budgeting could be life changing to those of us who work as freelance creatives. Do I need an advanced degree in Business and/or Finance to be better at sharing stories and ideas? No. Does it help? You'd be surprised.
I'm hoping to share what I'm learning and how it applies to creatives soon enough. No hard and fast plans just yet, but I've got a decent break after this week and I'd love to start cranking out some basics ideas here on my blog.